Love Stinks
by Arsahi
Summary: Numair breaks up with Daine, Yuki with Neal. Neal and Daine decide to pretend to court to make Yuki and Numair come back to them. **Chp 5!**
1. The Plan

**Love Stinks**  
by Arsahi  
Part One: The Plan

  
  
_Much thanking to the omni-cool Kate. She's my consultant on this fic, and it wouldn't have nearly as good a plot and filler material as it does now. Thanks, Kate!!_  
  
**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**  
  
Daine still couldn't quite believe it. Numair had broken the news to her gently, but she still couldn't quite grasp at what he had told her. Fearfully, and somewhat doubtfully, Daine looked at Numair and took a deep breath. "Did...did you just say that...that you...you're breaking up with me?"  
  
Numair averted his eyes to the ground for a moment, then met her eyes and nodded.  
  
In shock, Daine's legs almost collapsed beneath her. When she realized where she stood, she looked up at Numair, muttered something to the effect of "I have to go" and darted out of the room at inhuman speeds. She stumbled down the stairs from her rooms, blindly ran through the rooms that led to the game trials outside, and collapsed onto the grass. Before she had time to breathe, the deer, rabbits, squirrels, dogs, and everything else that was on the game trail at that time came running to her, thrusting their faces and paws up to her and nuzzling against her face and legs and arms, trying to comfort her.  
  
She heard footsteps pounding the trail, slowing as they reached her.  
  
Go! she told the animals around her. Go! Someone may try to hunt you!  
  
The dogs whined and licked her face. One of them said, That is a knight, not a hunter.  
  
Go! Daine yelled at them. The dogs scampered away long after the deer and more frightenable creatures had left, leaving Daine trying to blend in with the grass. She closed her eyes and willed herself to look like the grass so whoever tried to come up to her would go away, but it didn't work.  
  
"Daine?"  
  
She opened her eyes as the speaker blocked her sunlight. "What do you want?"  
  
Unable to make out the speaker's face, she squinted.  
  
"Daine...I...why did you run out here?" he asked.  
  
She turned on her side, only to find the speaker crouched beside her when she did. "Neal?" she asked inquisitively.  
  
He nodded and sat, studying her. "Why did you run away so fast?"  
  
Sitting up, she played with the grass, unable to hold back tears any longer. Numair, not loving her? How could that _happen_? She hadn't stuck around for the details, but now, out of morbid curiosity, she wanted to know. "Nu-Numair..." she started, unable to speak clearly. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath, looking into Neal's deep green eyes. "Numair broke up with me."  
  
Neal rocked back on his heels, blown away by the statement. "Daine...I'm so sorry."  
  
Sniffing hard, she looked away. "Don't. Just...don't." So he didn't.  
  
However, he did pull her into a hug, unable to stand the sight of someone he had once had a crush on cry.  
  
She fought the hug at first, but slowly relaxed until she let her tears flow freely onto Neal's shoulder. Neal murmured soft, comforting words to her as he stroked her hair with gentle hands and held her. He wasn't as tall as Numair, nearly, but she did manage to curl into his arms and be comforted. She didn't know if he had used some of his Gift on her or not, but she liked the calming effect that he had on her.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
Neal loosened his arms around her. "You're welcome." He kissed her on the forehead and let her go, to find that she fell back on her bottom when he did. Grinning, Neal stuck out a hand and lifted her to her feet. She let her hand linger a little longer in Neal's than it should have and sighed, letting him go.  
  
Daine nodded to him and started down the game trail, further into the forest.  
  
"Daine!" he called after her.  
  
Turning around, she answered, "What?"  
  
Neal ran and caught up with her. "Did he say he didn't love you?"  
  
Daine thought hard and shook her head. "No sir. He just said that he wanted to break up."  
  
"Well, my fiance has decided she would rather not marry me anymore--morbid details not disclosed--so...I was thinking. What if you and I pretend to court one another, thus making Numair jealous and realize he wants you back and still loves you and making Yuki jealous?" Neal suggested.  
  
"That's a fair daft thing to say," Daine told him.  
  
"No, it isn't," Neal argued. "If you just think about it..."  
  
Daine glared. "_Absolutely_ not."  
  
Snorting, Neal threw his hands up in the air. "What other choice do you have, Wild Mage?"  
  
Opening her mouth, Daine almost answered. However, she had no reply in mind, and couldn't think of anything to say. She closed her mouth and watched Neal smirk.  
  
"See?"  
  
Daine _did_ see, but she'd be damned by the gods themselves if she would admit it to this moron. "Whatever. You seem a bit eager to do this."  
  
"'Cause I _know_ it'll work," Neal told her.  
  
"Do you have the Sight?" Daine asked him.  
  
"Er...well, no, not--" Neal started.  
  
"Then hush," she instructed. "Lest you had the Sight, I wouldn't have listened to you."  
  
"Should've lied then?" he asked with a grin.  
  
Hanging her head, Daine exasperatedly gave Neal a shove in the arm. "Go. Just...go. I'll talk to you later, all right?" she told him as he trotted off down the game trail. "Thanks again!"  
  
"You're welcome again!" he called back, walking backwards. However, he tripped over his feet and fell backwards, tumbling heels over head down the trail. Daine snickered quietly and continued on her walk.  
  
*******  
  
Alone, Daine found she couldn't much keep her mind off of Numair and what had just happened between them. This, eventually, brought her to think about what Neal had suggested. She loved Numair with all of her heart not taken by animals or her mother or her father and she would do anything for him. By "anything", did she really _mean_ anything? Would she pretend to court Neal _just_ to get Numair back? To make him look at her with those loving brown eyes and make him itch to hold her in his propotionally-sized arms?  
  
Well...duh. Of course she would.  
  
She tried to figure out how much older she was than Neal. She had seen him often in the palace when he actually stayed there for awhile, and remembered once overhearing Neal and Kel as she told Neal that he was a full five years her senior. That meant Neal was fifteen to Kel's ten, and Prince Roald was about a third-year page when Kel started, making Neal two years older than the prince. She was five years older than Roald, so that meant she was only three years older, give or take a year, than Neal.  
  
_Not bad_, Daine commented mentally. _It could have been like Numair and I._  
  
Daine walked back into the palace and found that someone had moved her things from her and Numair's suite of rooms. They were now located in the suiets by the full-fledged knights and, luckily for her, just down the hall from Neal. Instantly she knew that Neal had had her things moved under the pretense that she would arrive at the conclusion she had.  
  
Opening her door carefully, she found that the servants had arranged her things almost to mirror the rooms she had with Numair. "Argh!" she cried, stepping in and looking around the room. "I didn't want to..."  
  
"Knock, knock," drawled a voice from the doorway, interrupting her vocal thoughts. Daine whirled to find Neal standing there. "Surprised?"  
  
Making a face, Daine looked around. "Not really."  
  
Neal chuckled. "I asked the servants if Numair had requested your things moved yet and they told me that he had. Coincidence that they moved you down the hallway from me, honestly. I was going to have your things moved to another room in the mages' quarters because I didn't want you to blame me for this, but the servants picked the room. Looks like we're neighbors though."  
  
Daine crossed her arms over her chest. "So? Will you just stand there all day or will you let yourself in?"  
  
"Well, actually," Neal said as he stepped inside. He didn't bother to shut the door behind him. "I feel rather hungry, my lovely lady, and would like you to accompany me to the mess or a restaurant in Corus."  
  
Wary, Daine regarded him suspiciously. "Will you pay?"  
  
"Of course, dear heart," Neal told her. "I'm not a cheap date."  
  
Pursing her lips, Daine rolled her eyes. "Right, right. I'lll go into Corus with you, but give me a moment to change. I have grass all over me and it feels rather uncomfortable."  
  
Nodding, Neal ducked out of the room, shutting the door as he went. When Daine emerged, she found him in a cleaner set of clothes as he offered her his arm. She snubbed him, leading him down the hallway towards the exit instead.  
  
"Ouch," he commented as he fell into step next to her. "Love, that hurt."  
  
"I didn't touch you," she replied, raising her eyebrows quizzically.  
  
"Ah, but you refused a gentleman's arm," he explained. "Ettiquette, my dear, ettiquette."  
  
Daine gave him a Look and shoved him playfully. "I don't see you as the type to follow protocol like that."  
  
"You forget," he told her. "My father is the Duke of Queenscove, which makes me a potential duke, which means that as one of the four founding fiefs of Tortall I must follow protocol strictly. At least at the palace. If you get me away from the palace, like out on the game trail, I throw protocol to the wind, and I like it better that way."  
  
"You confuse me," Daine informed him. "Then again, so does everyone in this place. I used to wonder if anyone acted the way they should here, and everyone would tell me that they didn't."  
  
"The truth," Neal agreed.  
  
They walked in silence for a little while longer, opting to walk to Corus rather than take a horse because neither had pressing business to attend to that afternoon. Neal didn't want to charm Daine--he was still hung up on Yuki--but he did want her to get her mind off of Numair for a while, so he kept her talking about things unrelated to Numair: court politics, his family, Kel's family, the king's family, knightly adventures, and other such things. He tried to stay as far away from the topic of Numair as he could, if only because she looked so hurt when she spoke about him.  
  
However, his plan backfired when Daine began to tell him a story over midday about her days as Numair's "magelet".  
  
_Red alert, red alert!_ his brain told him. _Mayday, mayday! Numair, Numair!_  
  
She seemed okay though with talking of him as if he were just a teacher she had enjoyed learning from and nothing more. Relieved, Neal changed the topic. "Did you give any thought to my proposal?"  
  
Daine looked at him as if he had sprouted horns, then realized what he had asked her about. "Oh. Well, I _do_ want him back..."  
  
"I asked if you considered my suggestion anymore," Neal reiterated. "I don't need an answer _to_ the suggestion, but I want an answer--yes or no will do fine--to my question."  
  
"Oh. Well, yes, then," Daine replied.  
  
"Good," Neal nodded. He looked up at the sky through the window of the restaurant they had chosen and grinned. "The day's gorgeous and we still have most of it left. Would you like to go do anything else while we're here? Low on supplies or anything?"  
  
She shook her head. "No, I'm not." She paused for a moment before adding, "I agree to your proposition, by the way."  
  
He nodded. "Well, I need some more things while we're here. Would you mind too terribly much joining me?" Neal inquired. He leaned forward over the table and whispered, "I see some court ladies over there who practically run the rumor mill. If we keep the charade up around them, the news will get to Yuki and Numair faster."  
  
Daine nodded and smiled. "Of course."  
  
He tucked Daine's hair behind her ear and sat back down, hailing a server. The server hurried over, Neal requested their bill, and the server scurried off. Thinking, Daine studied the brown haired, green eyed knight in front of her. He was being obnoxious, more so than the usual Neal. The whole Yuki thing must have cut him deeper than he wanted to admit.  
  
"What happened to Yuki?" Daine asked quietly.  
  
Pain flashed across Neal's face as he looked away. "She went to go visit her relatives in the Yamani Islands, and apparently she had forgotten about a lover she left there before she came with Princess Shinko. To put it simply, she remembered him when she got there."  
  
Daine ruffled his hair. "Has she come back yet?"  
  
"Arrived just this morning," he answered, running a hand through his hair in an attempt to calm it down.  
  
Wincing, Daine said, "That's fair painful."  
  
He laughed, but it sounded forced. "Painful. Fair painful for sure."  
  
"No making fun of the way I talk," Daine commanded, glaring.  
  
"Sorry," he mumbled. A moment later, the bill came to them. Neal paid for it and rose, offering his arm to Daine. She took it after a moment of contemplating, and walked out of the restaurant with him.  
  
Daine walked with him to the various places he needed to go, talking with strays and birds while Neal went about his business in the shops. When he finished his last errand, Daine felt drained, emotionally and physically. The sun had started to set by the time they started back to the palace, and Daine didn't hold onto Neal so much as for show as for the sheer fact that her legs had started to drag.  
  
"You look tired," Neal murmured as they reached the palace gates.  
  
"I feel tired," Daine confirmed. "You dragged me all about Corus today. I don't have a knight's stamina."  
  
"No shame in that," Neal assured her. Once they entered the palace, Daine had yawned nearly wide enough to crack her head open and told Neal she couldn't walk another step without falling over. Ingeniusly, Neal swept her up, keeping one arm under her arms and putting the other under her knees. When he reached her rooms, he found that Daine had fallen asleep on him. He hated to wake her up, but she had the keys to her rooms and he didn't want to riffle through her pockets while she slept. "Daine." He shook her a little. She continued to sleep. "Daine," he said, louder. She still slept. "Daine!"  
  
"I'm up!" she cried, springing awake and almost falling out of Neal's arms.  
  
"Whoa!" he exclaimed, setting her on her feet.  
  
Daine blinked. "How...how did...?"  
  
"You fell asleep on me, darling," he drawled. "So I figured I would bring you here. I wouldn't have waken you if I didn't have to, but you have your key and I really didn't want to riffle through your pockets."  
  
"Oh." Yawning, Daine dug her key out of her pocket and unlocked the door. She turned to face Neal once inside, standing in an awkward silence with him. "Er, thank you for midday."  
  
"My pleasure," he replied, watching her intently with those unnervingly green eyes.  
  
Hesitantly, Daine wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. "Thank you, Neal. It meant more to me than you'll ever know, and I think your plan just might work."  
  
He hugged her back. "Of course it will. I came up with it, and my plans always work."  
  
Rolling her eyes, Daine released him and shoved his shoulder. "Go eat or socialize or something. I'll see you in the morning."  
  
"Goodnight, Daine." He kissed her forehead and left.  
  
Daine rubbed her forehead and shut her door.  
  
*******  
  
Neal found himself pinned against the wall the moment he rounded the corner. "Don't hurt me!"  
  
"You're such a little girl," his attacker spoke.  
  
"Ah, the lovely Kel. Hello, dear," he replied, all smiles.  
  
Kel rolled her eyes. "Come with me." She grabbed a fistful of his tunic and dragged him into her rooms, shutting the door behind them. Roughly, she shoved him onto the bed and leaned against the wall. "Why do all the court ladies seem to buzz with the news of Daine and Numair's break up, your and Yuki's break up, and the news that you and Daine have found replacements in each other?"  
  
Surprised, Neal arched an eyebrow. "Impressive. I knew hanging around with Daine at the restaurant with the rumor mongers would benefit us..."  
  
Kel shoved him over and plopped on the bed next to him. "What do you _mean_, 'benefit us'? Neal, what have you and Daine started?"  
  
Neal sat up, folding his legs beneath him. "Well, Numair has decided to break it off with Daine, and earlier this morning Yuki introduced me to the man her parents engaged her to. She adores him, even more than she loves me. So I found Daine on the game trail after seeing her run like a wild animal through the palace, and she told me what had happened. I came up with an idea to get Yuki back and to get Numair back for her."  
  
Studying him for a moment, Kel came to the conclusion that he had gone mad. "What harebrained scheme have you come up with _now_?"  
  
"Well, the way I see it, if Daine and I pretend to court each other, then the rumor mongers will notice. Word will get out that Daine and I have moved on, and it will make Numair and Yuki jealous. They'll come to the conclusion that they still love us and want us back, so they'll come crawling back to us, and everything will go back to normal," he explained.  
  
"And Daine actually _agreed_ to this?" she asked incredulously.  
  
"I guess she feels as desperate as I feel." He shrugged. "Not that I feel the particular need to complain."  
  
Groaning, Kel sat up and buried her head in her hands. "Neal, what have you _done_?"  
  
"Started something I can't take back?" he guessed.  
  
She hit him.  
  
"I knew you wouldn't approve, Mother Kel," Neal told her teasingly.  
  
"But has that ever stopped you before?" she shot back.  
  
"Not once," he confirmed.  
  
"Can I do anything to help?" she inquired.  
  
"Not at this point, but later on," Neal told her. "Right now all we want to do is spend time with each other, get to know one another a little better, and I'll fill you in every step of the way. Of course, I need to check my plan with Daine...maybe you can help me figure out the finer points?"  
  
Kel nodded and took out a piece of parchment and a pen. "Okay. Phase one." She wrote that down on the parchment. "Get to know Daine, make sure rumor mongers see, and fill Kel in on the plan." She looked at Neal.  
  
"Phase two: Operation 'Woo Daine'." He motioned for her to write it down.  
  
She did. "I can imagine what will happen then. Phase three?"  
  
"Phase three: actually manage to court Daine." He shrugged.  
  
"And phase four probably consists of Numair and Yuki crawling back to you two," Kel finished.  
  
"Exactly," Neal agreed.  
  
"Numair may try to kill you if he still loves her," she warned him.  
  
"Daine would never allow it," he replied, shrugging.  
  
Shaking her head, Kel handed him the parchment. "So you can show Daine the plan," she explained. "You should probably tell her that I'm in on it too, just so she doesn't wonder how you suddenly got neat handwriting."  
  
Huffing, Neal replied, "I have neat handwriting!"  
  
"Sure. Delude yourself. It's fun," Kel conceded.  
  
He snorted. "Whatever. You know I do."  
  
"I know you _don't_," she informed him. "I've known you since the day I became a page. I know you don't have handwriting--you can barely write my name legibly on my Midwinter gift tags."  
  
Neal clutched his chest over his heart. "Ah, fair Lady Kel, you've wounded me!"  
  
"Good," she snorted. "Teach you to think twice before messing with a lady knight."  
  
He pursed his lips. "Ugh. I've learned _that_ lesson three times over between you and Alanna."  
  
"And yet you continue to fail." She rapped him on the head. "Go to sleep, Neal. I'll see you in the morning."  
  
"Agreed." Rising, he stretched and headed for the door. "Oh!" he turned and faced Kel just as he opened the door. "I'm actually meeting Daine for breakfast somewhere. I'll see you at midday, hopefully."  
  
She waved. "Good_night_, Neal."  
  
"Goodnight, Kel."  



	2. Conspiracy Theory

**Love Stinks**  
by Arsahi  
Chapter Two: Conspiracy Theory

  
  
_Thanks be to: veralidaine, Valencia22, Maria, Liaska, Drowning Rooster, Stuffed Dodo, Stacey, Keita, Raashna, CopperCurls (although you didn't review, I saw that you did, in fact, add me to both your favorite stories and your favorite authors, and for that I thank you), Kate, Jossie  
  
Wow! Thank you, everyone who's reviewed! I think this is the most reviewers I've had for the first chapter of_ anything _and it really blows me away!_  
  
**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**  
  
Neal dipped his hands into the basin of water in his room and ran it through his hair. He would make his unruly locks obey him or die trying, although he didn't see much honor in dying for his hair. Just as he had begun contemplaying the thought, a knock at his door startled him back to reality. "It's open," he called, figuring either Kel or one of the other male knights had come to talk to him. After all, they wouldn't care if he had his shirt on or not--the latter actually rang of truth.  
  
As he reached for his shirt, he heard a startled "hello" he wasn't used to hearing at his door.  
  
"Daine?!" he asked, his voice muffled as he pulled his shirt over his head. He grabbed his tunic and pulled it over his head as Daine laughed. "What, pray tell, do you find so amusing?"  
  
He popped his arms through the sleeves as Daine approached him. She dipped her hand into the basin and calmed his hair down, a half-smile gracing her lips. "You hair made you look like a lizard. It was funny."  
  
Neal rolled his eyes. "Gee, darling mage, I love you too."  
  
She grinned. "Come on. I'm fair hungry since I didn't eat supper last night, so let's go eat."  
  
"Where do you want to eat?" he asked as Daine took hold of his wrist. He hardly had the opportunity to shut his door as she dragged him down the hallway.  
  
"At this point, I'll eat in the Riders mess hall," she informed him.  
  
"The knights run their own rumor mill," he told her thoughtfully. "We can eat in there. Oh! And Kel knows about us. She agreed to help us out."  
  
"She approved?" Daine sounded surprised.  
  
"Not exactly," he admitted. "She loves me though--even if Yuki doesn't--and wants to help me out. Well, us, because she likes you too."  
  
"Interesting."  
  
Neal finally caught up with her and offered his arm with a flourish, well aware that a few more of the rumor mongers of the court stood a few feet away. Daine noticed it too, so she accepted his arm. Together, they entered the mess hall. Kel waved to them and motioned to a few emepty seats near her and the others they usually ate with, grinning. Neal deposited Daine in the seat next to his chosen and, with a yawn, dropped into his seat across from Kel.  
  
"Busy night?" Kel asked.  
  
"No, but Daine and I walked about Corus for an ungodly amount of time. Daine, how did I let you talk me into that, love?" he asked of her.  
  
"_Me_? Excuse me, but if you remember correctly _you_ did most of the shopping. _And_ a fair amount of eating," Daine huffed.  
  
"And I paid for _your_ food," he retorted. "If you don't like it then I won't pay anymore."  
  
"I didn't ask you to in the first place." She paused. "This is fair stupid. Why did we start arguing over something like _that_?"  
  
"It's reflex," Kel explained. "Everyone out of Neal's mouth inspires a reprimand."  
  
"Stop it, ladies, there's too much love in the room," Neal said dryly. "I can hardly stand it."  
  
"Poor Neal," Daine said, just as dryly. "His ego got squashed."  
  
"'Squashed' doesn't begin to descrive the sheer ribbon of ego I have left," Neal pouted. "I need a hug."  
  
Daine hugged him with one arm, around his waist. "Happy?"  
  
He made a noncommital noise, but hugged he rback with one arm as well.  
  
"He's quite easy to please, like a puppy. You might actually get along with him, Daine," Kel told her. She grinned at Neal. "He's loveable though."  
  
"Gee, thanks," Neal pouted some more. "That makes me feel _so_ much better."  
  
Kel snorted. "All right. Well, I'm off. I need to go help Owen devise a plan to get a certain lady's attention, so I bid you two farewell."  
  
"Bye," Neal and Daine chorused.  
  
Alone, the knight and wild mage sat in silence. Neither knew what to say; both had their minds on their recently separated significant others. "So." He finally spoke, pushing the remainders of his breakfast around on the plate.  
  
"So," she agreed.  
  
"Library?" he suggested, shoving his plate forward.  
  
"Sounds good." She nodded and untangled her arm from Neal's waist, rising with his offered hand, and heading out of the knight's mess hall.  
  
*******  
  
They didn't know what to do once they got to the library, though each grabbed a book and took a seat at one of the tables. Neal had grabbed a book on different healing techniques while Daine had snatched one up on the physical structures of Coldfangs that she herself had helped contribute to. In total, they spent forty-five minutes there before Daine finally said, "This doesn't seem to be working very well."  
  
"No, it doesn't," he confirmed with a sigh. He heard the door open and glanced in the general direction, hearing a familiar warm laugh trickle through the room. Frowning, Daine reached over and squeezed his hand, but he didn't move, other than closing his eyes. "Yuki," he whispered. "Gods damn it all...who's she with?"  
  
Daine peered around her companion to watch Yuki. "A fellow slightly taller than her, dark hair, dark, almond-like eyes."  
  
"Koji. My replacement," he explained. "Gods damn it. I thought she would never come here!"  
  
He whirled in his seat and watched Yuki and her former lover browse through the sections of books. Squaring her shoulders, Daine stood and walked over to Neal, taking the hand she had squeezed a moment ago in hers and threading her fingers through his. She nodded in Yuki and Koji's direction, effectively conveying her idea.  
  
They walked right past Yuki, without her sparing so much as a glance in their direction.  
  
Gritting his teeth, Neal tried to think of something to do to get Yuki's attention. It wouldn't do if he couldn't at least distract his once-fiancee from her new beau. However, Daine thought for him. "Neal," she said, loud enough for Yuki to hear but quiet enough to not draw others' attention. "I'm so glad Numair decided to break up with me. I couldn't have brought my feelings for you out in the open, then."  
  
Neal saw Yuki's eyes slide towards them, though nothing else moved. He smiled at Daine and replied, "Me too. With Yuki in the way, I could hardly come see you anymore."  
  
Yuki's head moved slightly towards them, giving her a slightly better view of Neal and Daine.  
  
Bracing herself, Daine tilted her head up and captured Neal's lips with her own. _This...this is fair disgusting. Ugh. Yuck. It's like kissing my brother, if I had one. If I had a brother and I kissed him, I think this is what it would feel like. Ugh. I want Numair back..._  
  
However, it worked. Yuki looked straight at them, eyes wide. "How...disgusting!"  
  
_Couldn't have said it better myself_, Daine mused silently.  
  
She said something in Yamani to Koji, arrested the Yamani man's arm, and escorted him out of the library. Neal and Daine broke away at the same time, each wiping their mouths with a somewhat pained expression on their faces. "That was gross," Neal stated.  
  
"Like kissing my brother, if I had one," Daine agreed.  
  
"Exactly. Yuck." He rubbed his temples. "Well, at least news will get around that we had dallied with one another while seeing our respective partners--not really something I wanted people to believe, but I guess it can work, especially if we want to skip right to the looking-like-lovers part."  
  
"Works for me." Daine shrugged.  
  
"I have to go warn Kel of the newest development. Would you care to join me?" he asked.  
  
"Surely," she answered, automatically latching onto his arm.  
  
*******  
  
Numair slammed his book on his desk. "What?" he asked incredulously of the woman standing in front of him.  
  
"I swear, Numair," the woman said, sweeping her curly light brown hair behind her. "I saw them walking around with their arms all over each other! And _then_, Lady Kate of--well, I don't remember where of--saw them kissing in the library. Lady Stacia says that Lady Minerva heard from Lady Sarina that they took midday together yesterday in a restaurant in Corus."  
  
Snorting, Numair sat on the edge of his desk. "Is that so?"  
  
"Indeed." Her brown eyes glittered, watching Numair's reaction. He simply hung an around her waist and pulled her closer. "Numair..."  
  
The corner of his mouth turned up a little and he kissed her cheek. "Keita, what Daine does with Neal is of no concern for me."  
  
_Liar, liar, pants on fire,_ his brain told his mouth. _You still care, and it is of concern for you. Liar, liar..._  
  
Keita kissed Numair lightly on the lips. "I'm glad you broke up with Daine. That way you can take care of me and the little one."  
  
_Numair, old buddy, you made a king-sized mistake,_ his conscience continued. _How could you have let something like this_ happen_? Why didn't Daine question you that night?_  
  
However, he ignored his conscience's ramblings and focused on Keita. Her full title was Lady Keita of Rivercrest with shoulder-length curly brown hair and eyes a warm honey brown color. She fit in Numair's arms even more perfectly than Daine had, and one fateful night Numair had met her at one of the balls Daine hadn't gone to. Keita had intoxicated him with the fragrant scent she wore, the sparkling eyes she watched him with, the fluid movements she displayed around him, and the feather soft touch of her fingertips on his face coupled with the ale he had drank most of the evening...  
  
Well, even without the ale, he still felt something for Keita.  
  
"Thank you for the warning," he murmured to her. "But, dear, I really must get back to the work Jon asked me to do. All right?"  
  
Keita pouted. "Really?"  
  
"Really. I'll be in a lot of trouble if I don't," he sighed. Somewhat reluctantly, Numair removed his arm from Keita's waist and sat behind the desk. "I'll meet you for supper, if not midday, I promise."  
  
Keita nodded. "I'll see you later, Numair." And sashayed out the door.  
  
Have you ever known the kind of innocent girl that just seemed to attract attention, particularly the attention of males sexually oriented towards females, wherever they went? And whoever that innocent girl chose for her mate wound up being hated and envied by the men? Slap the title of "Lady" on that girl and call her Keita--there you had her.  
  
However, once one got to know Lady Keita...they found her not entirely innocent.  
  
*******  
  
"Oh _really_?" Kel asked, somewhat surprised. Then she laughed. "That's good. At least I know now, if anyone asks. Thanks. Oh and by the way--I hear there's a really nice picnic spot by the lake. I know for a fact that some of the ladies and their lords went out to the spot, but I'm sure there's room enough for one more."  
  
Daine shrugged and looked at Neal. "What do you say, Neal? Should we?"  
  
"We should," he agreed. "Thanks for the tip, Kel. You're so helpful I could just kiss you."  
  
"Thanks, I think," she answered uncertainly. "Well, anyway, I'll leave you two to your own devices. See you around!"  
  
The two watched Kel walk off, then set off to prepare a picnic basket for their midday. Once ready, they walked arm in arm out to the lake, selected a spot for their picnic rendezvous and sat. However, they didn't realize that to their right--in Daine's view--was Numair and Lady Keita, and to their left--in Neal's view--was Yuki and Koji. They had started eating by the time they noticed the other two couples.  
  
Daine's blood boiled. "That...that..._tramp_!"  
  
"Eh?" Neal asked, his eyes drifting towards Yuki and Koji. "Oh...that tramp indeed."  
  
"Look to your left," she hissed.  
  
So he looked to his left. "Mithros," he breathed. "He got _Lady Keita_?"  
  
Gripping the blanket, Daine clenched her jaw. "He gave me up for that _whore_!"  
  
"Shhh," he advised, sliding an arm around her waist. "Shhh. Don't get upset, just pretend to love me more. If you look away, he'll watch." Neal traced her jawline with his index finger, kissing her cheek. "Now, let's just have a nice lunch and move on with our lives."  
  
"Yeah," she agreed quietly, pulling out a piece of bread from the basket. She also noticed the way Neal kept watching over her shoulder. "...No. Don't tell me Yuki and Koji are over there."  
  
"Afraid so," he murmured. "Feed the bread to me."  
  
"Excuse me?" Daine asked incredulously.  
  
"Just feed the bread to me," he urged.  
  
"I hope you know what you have planned," she muttered, tearing off a chunk of bread and feeding it to Neal. Smiling, he took a piece of the roll she still held and fed it to her. "Oh...I see now."  
  
"Yeah." Hesistantly, he asked, "Do we have any fruit in there? Strawberries or cherries or what have you?"  
  
Daine rummaged through the basket, pulling out a bag of blueberries. "Here."  
  
"It will have to do," he muttered, sighing. He popped one in his mouth, making sure Yuki saw it, and leaned over the basket, kissing Daine.  
  
_WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE GODS?!_ Daine sputtered mentally as she felt Neal urge her mouth open with the blueberry. Once safely inside Daine's mouth, he pulled away, grinning. _That was disgusting._  
  
She fought down the urge to hit him. However, seeing the look of indignation on Yuki's face made him laugh, so she didn't think it was _so_ bad. He did have a nice laugh, after all. And if it weren't for the fact that she was still in love with Numair, Neal might actually have been a good kisser. If he warned her beforehand, she might enjoy it--a little.  
  
_Shut up, Daine. Don't entertain those kind of thoughts, that's a fair fool thing to do._  
  
Nonetheless, the other part of her brain raged on. _Yeah, but you need to make it look real. You know? 'Cause if it doesn't, then Numair will just smirk and go around with that little whore...what's her name, Keita?_  
  
Neal nudged her gently, seeing a malicious look spread across Daine's face as her eyes fell upon the lady with Numair.  
  
"Love, you're glaring," he murmured.  
  
Shaking her head, she looked at Neal. "Anyway." She rifled through the picnic basket, looking for something. She stopped though when she saw Numair reach over, tuck a loose strand of hair behind Lady Keita's ear, and kiss her gently.  
  
_That's it. Pucker up, lover boy._  
  
Daine leaned forward and kissed Neal soundly on the mouth.  
  
Behind them, Yuki gave an indignant cry.  
  
_Take_ that_, you whore,_ Neal thought, trying his hardest not to smile into the kiss. 


	3. Dancing Teapots

_Hey guys! Thanks for all your comments and reviews and support! Here's my thank you list!  
  
Thanks to: veralidaine, mandygirl, Valencia22, PotterMania22, Manders, Stacey, magelet, Keita, lady knight, Kate, Min, Kiyleine, and Jossie_  
  


**Chapter Three: Dancing Teapots**

  
  
The palace gardens bloomed perfectly in the spring afternoon, bright bursts of color among a dreary castle day. None of the current Royal Family were very plant-oriented, but the gardens were well taken care of, regardless. It had rained the afternoon beforehand, leaving the court ladies inside rather than letting a group of them take their afternoon stroll. The ground had dried enough for the five ladies to walk without getting too muddy.  
  
"Gods, it's humid," Lady Kate said suddenly.  
  
Lady Sarina nodded vigorously, her brown hair tumbling into her blue eyes. "I hate the humidity. It makes my hair all curly _and_ it makes me sweat."  
  
Rolling her eyes, Lady Stacia whacked her with a fan. "That was too much information, hun."  
  
Lady Minerva laughed as Lady Keita joined the other four. Turning to Keita, Minerva asked, "So, how is the newest lady of choice for Master Numair?"  
  
Keita grinned. "Wonderful."  
  
"Glad to hear it," Minerva replied.  
  
"Forget Numair," Stacia snorted. "Well, actually, _you_ keep Numair. _I_ would have gone after Sir Neal."  
  
Ladies Kate, Sarina, and Stacia all sighed wistfully.  
  
With sudden determination, Sarina said, "I _will_ go after Sir Neal! After all, I'm _much_ prettier than that wild mage. He likes court ladies, right?"  
  
"No! Back off, Lady Sarina. You haven't got a chance against my superior beauty, wit, and intellect," Kate told her.  
  
Sarina snorted. "Beauty? Wit? Intellect? What mirror have _you_ been using and who have you been talking to?"  
  
While Sarina had retorted to Kate's assertion, Stacia preened. "Both of you haven't got a chance."  
  
Kate rolled her eyes. "If we don't, then you _certainly_ don't."  
  
Minerva cleared her throat. "Ahem, ladies?"  
  
The three looked at Minerva and Keita, the latter of which was trying hard not to laugh at her three friends. Sarina looked at Stacia and Kate, then at Minerva and Keita, and began to laugh. "I'm such a dumbass."  
  
"You are," Stacia agreed.  
  
Sarina stuck her tongue out at Stacia. "I hear Sergeant Domitan fancies you."  
  
A look of horror spread across Stacia's face. "No!"  
  
Snickering, Kate turned to Keita. "Anyway, how's Numair?"  
  
Keita, by this time, was laughing heartily. "He's fine. He always wants to know what Daine is doing though."  
  
"She seems very happy with Neal," Stacia admitted begrudgingly. "They've only had their relationship publicly for a little more than two weeks, but they do seem pretty happy."  
  
Reluctantly, Kate agreed. "I would be too. He seems pretty happy with her as well."  
  
"I heard they went out riding a little earlier, on a picnic down at the lake," Sarina piped up.  
  
"Lady Minerva!" called someone from the other side of the gardens. "Lady Minerva, your mother wishes to speak with you!"  
  
"I'll be right there!" Minerva called back. "Fill me in later, okay?"  
  
The other four nodded. "Of course," Stacia promised.  
  
Minerva took off to the other side of the gardens. Keita yawned, looked up at the sky, and sighed. "Numair wanted to see me before supper, so I'll go see if he wants to talk to me yet. Bye, ladies."  
  
Stacia, Sarina, and Kate watched her trot off. Eyes shifty, Stacia, in hushed tones, asked, "Do any of you have the same idea I do?"  
  
"I think so," Sarina agreed.  
  
A grin spread over Kate's face. "Let's go spy on Daine and Sir Neal!"  
  
"Only, not so much Daine," Sarina amended.  
  
"More Neal," Stacia nodded.  
  
"Thank the gods that Keita and Min left," Kate breathed. "They would have never agreed to do this."  
  
"That's because they don't love Neal like we do," Stacia explained flippantly.  
  
"You mean, like _I_ do."  
  
"Oh, shove it, Sarina."  
  
*******  
  
"Neal, you're such a flirt," Daine told him.  
  
"Alas, I hear that often," Neal admitted dramatically. They had taken a break in a secluded spot by the lake, out of view unless one looked real hard for it.  
  
"Gee, I wonder why," she retorted dryly, laughing.  
  
"Ah, but I can't help it with beautiful ladies like you running around," he said.  
  
She laughed again. "I feel sorry for whoever you truly do marry, Queenscove."  
  
He flashed a grin at her. "Oh, you know you love it. What woman doesn't appreciate being called beautiful?"  
  
Rolling her eyes, she shoved him and lied back on the grass with her hands behind her head. Neal followed suit and almost dozed off when Daine suddenly said, "They only appreciate it when it's sincere."  
  
"Do what?" he asked ingeniously.  
  
"Women only like having a man tell them that they look beautiful when that man means it." She looked over at him.  
  
He met her eyes. "How do you know I didn't mean it?"  
  
She rolled her eyes at him. "Because you're a flirt."  
  
"A flirt with a fan club, no less." He yawned.  
  
"A fan club?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.  
  
"Lady Stacia, Lady Sarina, and Lady Kate seem to be the ring leaders," he said indifferently. "I used to have a crush on you, you know."  
  
Looking back up at the sky, Daine smiled. "You did?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"That's cute."  
  
"Ah, my aim in life. To be told that it was cute that I had a crush on the wild mage."  
  
Daine laughed. "But it _is_ cute."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
A comfortable silence settled over them, a smile lingering on both of their faces. Neal's eyes drifted shut, and soon he snored lightly. _Horse Lords, he snores,_ Daine mused. _He's a snoring knight._  
  
"Dancing teapots..." Neal mumbled.  
  
Daine raised an eyebrow. _Dancing teapots?_  
  
"Won't you dance with me...fair Lady Fork..." he continued.  
  
_Lady Fork? Seems I have competition,_ Daine snickered silently.  
  
"I'm better than Sir Spoons-a-lot..." he grumbled.  
  
_Sir Spoons-a-lot, eh?_ she thought, finding this very amusing.  
  
"Hey...Sir Knife...y'wanna say that to my face?" Neal growled. "That's what I thought."  
  
Daine couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing. She laughed so hard that her stomach hurt, and when she rolled on her side to see if Neal had waken, she found his green eyes staring at her intently.  
  
"...Why are you laughing?" he asked innocently.  
  
"Should I worry about 'Lady Fork'?" she retorted, snickering.  
  
Neal turned red. "Gah!"  
  
Still chuckling, Daine got to her feet. "I think we should probably go back now. Don't want your Lady Fork to worry about you."  
  
"There's no Lady Fork," Neal snorted.  
  
"But you wanted to dance with her," the wild mage pointed out, mounting her horse.  
  
"I want to dance with a lot of ladies," he told her.  
  
"Including dress-wearing forks," she added.  
  
"Urusai."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Yamani for 'shut up.'"  
  
"Aw, but Neal! You wouldn't say that to Lady Fork!"  
  
"Mithros, woman, you're worse than Kel."  
  
*******  
  
"Okay! There he is!" Stacia hissed from her position by the stables.  
  
"Is Daine with him?" Sarina wanted to know.  
  
Kate and Stacia both gave her a Look. However, it was Stacia who answered. "No," she said sarcastically, "he has Kel with him on one arm and the Queen on the other."  
  
Sarina's eyes went wide. "He _does_?!"  
  
Kate whapped Sarina upside the head. "You're loyal, but gullible as a child."  
  
Whimpering, Sarina rubbed the back of her head and ducked behind the stable door, waiting with Kate for the arrival of Neal and Daine. A moment later, Stacia joined them. She was barely hidden when Neal and Daine led their horses into the stables. Kate darted in after them, hiding behind the stable stalls, waving Stacia on. When it came time for Sarina to go, she tripped over the hem of her skirt and pitched forward onto the floor.  
  
Stefan dropped down from the ceiling and looked down at Sarina, raising an eyebrow. "What's a lass like ye doin' here?" he asked as he helped her to her feet.  
  
Sarina laughed embarrassedly. "Ahahahahaha! I was looking for...for my..." she scanned the stables as briefly and discreetly as she could. When she found something, she grinned at him and announced, "I was looking for my shoe!"  
  
Kate and Stacia groaned silently, looking at each other like they each wanted to smack Sarina upside the head.  
  
"Lass, ye have yer shoes on yer feet," Stefan informed her.  
  
"Look at that! I do!" Sarina exclaimed, laughing.  
  
Neal peeked over the edge of his horse's stall and tried to see around Stefan the Hostler but couldn't quite see who the speaker was.  
  
"I'll see you around then, good sir! Good day!" and Sarina scuttled out of the stables.  
  
Stefan scratched the back of his head and sighed. He wondered how court produced such strange ladies and climbed back up to his hiding place, leaving Neal, Daine, the horses, Kate, and Stacia to entertain themselves. Moments later, Sarina crept into the stables carefully, dropping in place behind Kate.  
  
"Close one, eh, Kate?" Sarina whispered.  
  
"Just...no. Don't speak," Stacia told her. "In fact...just stay here."  
  
Sarina pouted. "But I want to spy on Neal!"  
  
Kate clamped a hand over her companion's mouth. "You'll have to stay quiet then."  
  
Nodding, Sarina tried to answer but remembered that Kate's hand was still over her mouth. When Kate removed it, she bit her lip to refrain from saying anything.  
  
"I can't hear anything," Stacia sighed. The nineteen-year-old peered around the side of the stall and hurried across to the next empty stall, motioning for the two twenty-year-olds to follow her.  
  
They heard the tail ends of the conversation. It was hard to hear over the horses and the others scrambling around at the other end of the stables.  
  
"...Lady of the Forks," Daine said.  
  
"....not Lady of the Forks," Neal snorted.  
  
"....I be jealous?" she asked.  
  
"...getting old," he informed her.  
  
"...me," Daine replied.  
  
They both ducked out of the stalls after seeing to their horses. Neal didn't bother to offer his arm this time although Daine did attach herself to him out of sheer habit. He didn't seem to mind or even notice, the trio spying on him noted. Waiting until the new couple had left the stables, Stacia, Kate, and Sarina darted forward, Sarina still careful not to trip over her dress. Stefan watched from his hiding place, observing and chuckling. He found the girls hilarious and wished he could watch them longer, but he had horses to tend to.  
  
*******  
  
Keita paced her rooms. Numair had told her to wait in her rooms for him while he changed into something less disgusting and more along the lines of clean and mended. That had been a half-hour ago. She was starting to get worried.  
  
"Numair?" she called finally, going to his rooms.  
  
"Come in," he answered.  
  
She opened the door and found him at his desk, reading. "A_hem_."  
  
Numair looked up at her and didn't recognize her for a moment. Then he came back to reality and realized what had happened. "Gah...I'm sorry, Keita," he apologized, rising from his desk and walking over to her. He was older than Keita by about nineteen years, but he didn't care. He took her in his arms, to which she reluctantly obeyed, and ran his hand through the bottoms of her hair. "I'm sorry. I saw something in the book and it caught my eye."  
  
"Something _always_ catches your eye," Keita told him.  
  
"I know," Numair sighed. "I'm working on it, but I've always done things like that, even when I was with Daine."  
  
"Well, if Daine can put up with it, _I_ can put up with it," she conceded. "But please--just eat sometime, will you?"  
  
"I promise. In fact, I'll eat right now with you. When is midday?" he asked, offering his arm to her as he shut the door behind them.  
  
"Midday is about two and a half hours ago," she let him know.  
  
Numair winced. "Well, let's go down to one of the restaurants in Corus then."  
  
Smiling, Keita agreed. "Sure."  
  
_Let's just not go to one Daine and I ate at,_ Numair told his subconscious. _You hear me down there? You better not go to Daine's and my restaurant._  
  
Together, they went to Corus, sat down in a restaurant, and ate.  
  
There really wasn't much depth to their relationship.  
  
*******  
  
"Okay," Kate said. "It'll go like this." She paced back and forth in front of Sarina and Stacia. "Stacia, you'll go up to him and ask him if he's seen Sarina. I'll go after you, a little later, and ask if he's seen you. Sarina, you go after us and ask if you've seen us, and then Stacia, you come and tell Daine that she's needed in the stables. Then I'll go up and talk to Neal. Okay?"  
  
"Okay," Sarina agreed.  
  
"Wait," Stacia protested. "Why do _you_ get to talk to him?"  
  
"Because I'm oldest," Kate told them.  
  
"...Are you older than me?" Sarina wondered.  
  
Although not quite certain, Kate nodded. "Yes. So I get to talk to Neal."  
  
Stacia grumbled, "Fine, fine." She looked wistfully over at Neal and Daine, who were talking secretively, and sighed. Slowly, she ambled over to them. "Er, Sir Neal?" she asked. "Have you see a lady with brown hair and blue eyes and kind of clumsy-like come around here? Lady Sarina, if you know her name?"  
  
"Not lately," he replied, feeling somewhat suspicious of her. "Maybe she went that way?" he suggested, pointing.  
  
"Thank you!" Stacia exclaimed and took off, mentally cursing herself for such tactics.  
  
A few minutes later, Kate came barreling in, panting and asking if Stacia had come through that way. Neal pointed the direction in which he had sent Stacia, leaned back, and said to Daine, "Lady Sarina will be by in just a few moments, asking for them both. These three are the veritable ringleaders."  
  
Daine laughed lightly and snuggled against Neal comfortably. She had already grown used to using the boy as a pillow.  
  
Ten minutes passed before Sarina remembered she was supposed to go ask for Stacia and Kate. Dawdling, she strolled up to Neal and said, "Good afternoon, Sir Neal."  
  
"Good afternoon, Lady Sarina," he replied.  
  
"Isn't it a beautiful afternoon?" she asked dreamily.  
  
"Certainly," he told her. "Almost as beautiful as you."  
  
"Neal!" Daine hit him on the shoulder. "Don't flirt with other ladies in front of me, you oaf."  
  
Lady Sarina blushed. "Er, well, I heard from the cooks that they saw Ladies Stacia and Kate run through here earlier and they seem to have abandoned me. Could you tell me which direction they headed off in?"  
  
Daine and Neal both pointed. "That way," Neal instructed. "Good luck finding them..."  
  
Sarina took off.  
  
"One of the other two will be back," he guessed. "My fan club is amusing."  
  
"Apparently," Daine agreed.  
  
Kel trotted up to them then. "Hey Neal, hey Daine."  
  
"Hello Kel," Daine replied, smiling.  
  
"'Lo," Neal greeted her.  
  
"Daine, I hate to bother you two, but can I borrow Neal for a moment? Owen wants to talk to him and have a little man talk I guess," Kel explained.  
  
"Sure you can borrow him," Daine told her. "Go on, Neal."  
  
"All the men want to be me and all the women want to be with me. Life's good," Neal commented as he got up with Kel.  
  
She smacked his arm. "Get a life, Neal."  
  
They were long gone by the time Stacia came back. "Oh...uh...where did Sir Neal go?"  
  
"He left for a little while," Daine replied. "If you want to go and try to find him, I'd say he would probably be in the knights' quarters."  
  
"Oh...okay. Thank you."  
  
*******  
  
Yawning, Neal joined Owen in the library. "What seems to be the problem, young Owen?"  
  
"Well, there's this lady that I fancy," Owen started. "And...you see...she kind of fancies this other man...he's a mage, no less. A powerful one too. That's jolly, but...how do I make her fancy me? Kel doesn't have any suggestions..."  
  
Neal thought for a moment before answering: "We need to spy on her. See what type of man she likes, what types of things she eats, what type of woman she is, that kind of stuff."  
  
"I already know all of that. She likes older men and likes court food. She's really a sweet lady..." Owen trailed off.  
  
"Who is she?" Neal wanted to know.  
  
"Lady Keita."  
  
_Whoa. Talk about perfect! If we can just get Owen to win Keita's heart, then that will leave Numair open for Daine. What about_ me _though? I have no plan for me..._ Neal mused. "Well..."  
  
Kel broke in. "We need to find out where Numair and Keita are then, right? I can go find out where Numair is. Usually, wherever Numair is, Keita isn't far off." Decisively, she nodded. "All right. I'll be back in a few minutes." Without waiting for her friends' answer, she took off.  
  
"Uh..." Owen and Neal trailed off.  
  
"Anyway," Owen continued. "What will we do? Spying on her doesn't sound very jolly."  
  
"We'll...er, accidentally overhear--"  
  
"Eavesdrop," Kel corrected from behind him.  
  
Neal cringed. "Back so soon, love?"  
  
She shrugged. "It wasn't hard to get information about him. The servants say that Lady Keita and Numair went down to some restaurant called the Griffin's Wing. How they know that, I don't want to know. Anyway, let's go, right?"  
  
The boys nodded and watched Kel walk out.  
  
"Is it me or is she getting a little too into the matchmaking thing?" Neal whispered to Owen.  
  
"It's not just you."  
  
*******  
  
Daine waited patiently for Neal's return, well aware of the fact that Kate, Stacia, and Sarina kept lurking around the corners. The cats in the palace trotted up to talk with her, which kept her mind off of the fact that she had been abandoned.  
  
"Daine!" called Neal from across the way.  
  
"Neal!" she called back, waving. Go now, she told the cats. I'll come talk to you some more later, I promise.  
  
That man acts like a dog, one of the cats informed her.  
  
Daine chuckled as another cat piped up with, And he smells like one too.  
  
Now, now, that's enough of that, Daine reminded. I'm supposed to be "in love" with him to everyone in court. That means you animals too.  
  
The third cat swished its tail in annoyance. Let's leave her with the Dog Man.  
  
It leapt off of Daine's lap and led the other two away. Neal grinned at her and sat down. "Talking with animals again?"  
  
She returned the grin. "Yep. They call you 'Dog Man.'"  
  
"Flattered, really," he said dryly. "Owen and Kel have asked me to do a favor for them, so I'm going to go down into Corus with them. Wait for me?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
He got to his feet, looked down at her uncertainly, and impulsively kissed her gently on the lips. He coughed, flushed a little, bade her a soft farewell, and darted off.  
  
Puzzled, Daine touched her lips. _That felt different this time. It was...kind of...nice..._  
  
She twitched, realizing what she just thought. _No. No_ way_. Get a grip, Daine! Kissing Neal is_ not _nice!_  
  
A little corner of her mind laughed at her. _It's nice, and you know it. Especially since Numair's off kissing that whore._  
  
Daine buried her face in her hands. "Shut up in there!"  
  
Nearby, Ladies Stacia, Sarina, and Kate exchanged glances. "...She's mad," Stacia whispered.  
  
"Neal must pity her," Sarina deducted.  
  
"...Neal's such a kind knight," Kate added.  
  
"For sure."  
  
Daine looked up at where they were and rolled her eyes. "Court ladies. Why couldn't he have flirted with one of _them_?"  
  
_Because he liiiiiiikes you!_  
  
"Shut up up there." 


	4. A Light Spell or Blowing Up the Castle

_Thanks: Valencia22, clarylissa, Csporty128, Krizta, Lady Sandrilene, veralidaine, a tammy fan, Kate, Alura, Stacey, Kiyleine, Kali, Lady Kewlness of Queenscove_  
  


**Chapter Four: A Light Spell or Blowing Up the Castle**

  
  
"You know, this doesn't seem very jolly," Owen whispered to his older knight friends. "I feel like we're encroaching on her privacy or something."  
  
"Of course we are. That's what spying _is_," Neal insisted. "It's not like we're hurting anyone or anything."  
  
"What if we see something we shouldn't see?" Owen asked worriedly.  
  
"Like what? Keita and Numair holding hands?" Neal retorted. "Come on, Owen. People do things like this all the time. I've even noticed a few ladies spying on you at court."  
  
Owen's eyes went wide. "Really? Like who?"  
  
"Like--" Neal started but Kel hit his arm.  
  
"They're on the move," she hissed, grabbing his sleeve and dragging him and Owen behind the bushes with her. All three popped up, dusted themselves off, and strolled down the path, following Keita and Numair.  
  
"She has the Gift," Neal said suddenly.  
  
Kel gave him a "are you stupid?" look. "Um...yeah."  
  
He blushed and rolled his eyes, jamming his hands in his pockets. "The Gift shields itself from others who have the Gift, you know."  
  
"It's a maroon color," Owen added. "With kinda black swirls. Or so I hear. I've never seen it myself, though..."  
  
Kel sighed, keeping an eye on Keita and Numair. They ducked into a shop that sold items for the Gifted which Owen saw and briefly conspired with Neal. "You go in, okay, Neal? And tell me what happens. It will look odd if Kel or I go in there," Owen explained.  
  
"Sure thing," Neal agreed and moseyed on over to the shop.  
  
Kel and Owen, meanwhile, pretended they were looking for something along the side of the road while they waited for Neal to return with news of Keita and Numair. It took Numair and Keita a full forty-five minutes to come out of the shop for the Gifted, each toting more than an item or two. Neal jogged over to his friends and asked, "Did you find it yet?"  
  
"Yes," Owen said, producing a ring out of nowhere in case anyone had thought it suspicious that Kel and himself were crouched along the road like that.  
  
When they were certain they could watch Keita and Numair and still maintain a less-than-stalker distance from them, Neal told his friends what they had bought in the shop. "It was just your generic spell-casting things although Numair's were more than basic. Keita bought some pretty hefty stuff herself."  
  
Owen didn't care about that. "What did they say to each other?"  
  
"They just talked about what they were buying. I have no idea what kind of spell Keita's planning on casting, but it looked pretty difficult. It also looked like it might dip a little in the darker side of magic," Neal trailed off. "But I don't know, I'm just a healer. I'm not trained in that sort of magic."  
  
"We know," Kel sighed.  
  
They followed Numair and Keita back to the castle, still maintaining the same less-than-stalker distance. "We haven't found out much, have we?" Neal mused. "Except that Keita may very well be trying to blow up the castle."  
  
"What?" Owen cried desparagingly.  
  
"Or she could be casting a spell to let more light into her room," Neal continued as if Owen's outburst hadn't happened. "As I said, I'm not very good at that sort of magic because I'm a healer."  
  
"If you tell us you're a healer one more time I might have to do something drastic," Kel informed him.  
  
"Aw, I didn't know you cared, Kel," Neal retorted.  
  
Kel told him something scathingly that Owen only half-listened to. He was still nervous--it was just his luck that he would fancy a court lady that had it in her head to explode the palace. Owen hadn't listened to the second option Neal had offered and didn't want to know it, for it certainly had to have been worse than blowing up the castle, or else Neal wouldn't say it first. That sentence hardly made sense in Owen's head, much less to anyone else.  
  
"Ah, home sweet palace," Neal murmured as they approached the gates. They trailed in next to Keita and Numair.  
  
"Hello Lady Kel, Sir Neal, Sir Owen," said Keita from the saddle, offering a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.  
  
"Good afternoon, Lady Keita," Neal replied congenially.  
  
"Hello, Lady Keita. Afternoon, Numair," Kel answered.  
  
"H-hello," Owen told Keita. "A pleasure to see you."  
  
Keita nodded.  
  
Numair finally realized that Kel had said hello to him. "Hello, Kel."  
  
"How goes it?" she asked.  
  
"It goes well," he replied. He yawned and shifted uncomfortably on his horse. "Just most of the same old things I do everyday."  
  
"So I see," Kel admitted.  
  
The horses were stabled soon and Numair and Keita waited for Neal, Kel, and Owen. Numair walked next to Kel, leaving Owen and Neal with Keita. "Have you heard?" Numair wanted to know.  
  
"About what?" Kel countered.  
  
"About Emperor Kaddar from Carthak," Numair replied. "It seems he and some of his servants have been invited by Jon for something or other."  
  
"I hadn't heard," nodded Kel. "Will they be holding anything in honor of him?"  
  
"Jon wanted to hold a ball--" Numair paused at the expression on Kel's face, "--but it displeased Thayet to hear such a notion. She suggested a contest that the servants could participate in, or a contest that Kaddar's entourage could join in with. They're only allowing a certain amount of Tortallans per event, and I think it would be a good change of pace for you."  
  
Grinning, Kel looked up at Numair. "Will they have tilting?"  
  
"I know for certain they will be archery, tilting, swordfighting, and a contest for the Gifted," Numair replied. "I've heard your legendary tilting skills. I fear for the poor Carthaki servants that decide to test their skills against yours."  
  
"When do I enter?" Kel asked.  
  
"I believe signups are a week from today," he informed her. "Well, this is where we go. Keita!"  
  
"Coming!" she answered and dashed over to Numair, latching onto his arm. "Lovely talking with you, good sirs."  
  
"I'll talk to you later, Kel," Numair bade her farewell and walked off with Keita.  
  
"Goodbye!" Kel called after him. Promptly, she turned to face Owen and Neal. "Well? What did you talk about?"  
  
Owen shot a dirty look at Neal. "_He_ did most of the talking."  
  
"Tsk, tsk," Kel shunned him. "What's Daine going to think when she finds you were flirting with Numair's new lover?"  
  
Neal rolled his eyes. "I wasn't flirting with her. And Owen wouldn't talk--so I had to."  
  
"You didn't give me a _chance_ to with your jolly big mouth!" Owen sputtered.  
  
Sighing, Kel put a hand on his shoulder. Owen had had his Ordeal last Midwinter and was nearly as tall as she was now. "Now, Neal, apologize to Owen."  
  
Rolling his eyes, Neal said, "Sorry."  
  
"Good boy."  
  
"Don't treat me like a dog," Neal mumbled grumpily.  
  
"Hey, did you guys hear about Emperor Kaddar coming here from Carthak?" Kel asked suddenly.  
  
Neal and Owen exchanged glances, balking at the sudden change in topic. Owen shook his head. "I haven't."  
  
"I think I may have heard something about it," Neal admitted, not bothering to point out that Kel had abruptly changed the subject on them. "Why?" he asked. "Do you think they'll hold something 'in honor' of his arrival?"  
  
"Numair said Tortall will host a contest because Her Majesty got tired of balls," Kel explained. "They'll have tilting, swordfighting, archery, and some sort of event for the Gifted."  
  
"Three guesses what She Who is To be Feared With a Lance is going to enter," Neal said dryly.  
  
Kel grinned with embarrassment. Owen groaned. "I don't know what I should enter," he told them with a slight twinge to his voice.  
  
They had entered the palace by then.  
  
"What will you enter, Neal?" Kel asked.  
  
"I'm not entering any of the contests. Knowing Father as I do he'll commission me to help out with the infirmary...mainly with people you and Sir Raoul smash in tilting," Neal teased her.  
  
"Surely you'll watch Daine in the archery contest though?" Kel pressed.  
  
Nodding, Neal allowed himself to smile. "Of course. I wish I could watch you too. And Owen, whatever you're entering."  
  
Owen frowned. "I guess I'll have to enter swordfighting."  
  
"You can enter ti--" Kel started.  
  
"Run, Owen! Don't listen to her and her talk of tilting!" Neal interrupted his best friend.  
  
Owen nodded quickly. "I'm off! That swordfighting looks rather jolly now!"  
  
As Owen ran off, Kel put her hands on her hips. "Come on, let's not force the poor boy into doing something he would rather not do."  
  
"Hm, either get pulverized by you in tilting or get beaten worse in archery by Daine," Neal told her. "Quite frankly, I don't want to be healing Owen at this contest."  
  
"Well, we'll just have to make sure someone suits his armor tight enough then," Kel grumbled.  
  
"Kel, he's a full-fledged knight now," Neal assured her. "They wouldn't let a knight like him go without suiting his armor up properly."  
  
"You said you didn't want to see him in the infirmary," she retorted.  
  
Neal shook his head and patted her shoulder. "I need to go find Daine. Bye, love!" and he took off.  
  


*******

  
  
He found Daine meditating by the lake.  
  
Rather than disturb her, he just sat next to her and joined her in meditating.  
  
Another half-hour passed before Daine realized that Neal had joined her and she came slowly out of the private place her meditation offered. Neal came out of it a few moments later. He smiled at her. "I was looking for you."  
  
"Oh?" Daine sounded interested. "Why?"  
  
"Have you heard about Emperor Kaddar visiting?" he asked, playing with the blades of grass beneath his hands as he watched the lake reflecting the sun and sky above.  
  
"Yes," nodded she. "Why do you ask? It's fair odd of you to ask such a thing. In fact, it's fair odd that you even know about it. It hasn't been announced to the court yet that he will arrive. Jon was supposed to do it today..."  
  
"Kel heard from Numair," he explained. "Did you plan on entering?"  
  
Daine offered him a smile. "Yes I was. Archery."  
  
"Kel's doing tilting," he continued. "Owen's entering swordfighting."  
  
"What will you enter?" Daine asked.  
  
"The infirmary," he replied.  
  
Daine laughed. "I'm sure you'll do fine in your event."  
  
He shook his head. "My father will make me help out with those who are injured. Probably Carthaki participants mostly, and those participating in the tilt with Kel and Sir Raoul."  
  
She laughed again.  
  
_Goddess, she's pretty when she laughs,_ Neal realized. _...Hey. None of that, now. You love Yuki, remember? That's who you want back._  
  
"Jon said I could invite you to supper the first night Kaddar's here," Daine informed him. "Do you have plans or can you come?"  
  
"I can come," Neal said without even thinking about it. "What plans am I going to have anyway? Eat in the mess hall and sit down for an hour reading?"  
  
Daine smiled. "Okay. Kaddar is an old friend of mine and I want you to meet him."  
  
"I think I remember when Ozorne and all of Immortals first showed up..." Neal trailed off.  
  
"You should." Daine shoved him playfully. "I was fourteen when I had to fight 'em and I'm only three years your senior. That would make you eleven."  
  
"Alas, but I lived a sheltered life," he answered her.  
  
Daine nodded sympathetically. "I understand." She stood up and stretched, then bounced on the balls of her feet. "I can't wait to see Kaddar again! I haven't seen him for...Goddess, I haven't seen him for more than eight years!"  
  
Neal smiled tightly. "Right."  
  


*******

  
  
The next few days passed in a blur of preparation around the palace. Typically, the leaders of countries like Carthak rarely visited Tortall, but apparently Jon needed to speak with Kaddar and simply couldn't make the trip himself for the gods know what reason. Kaddar had agreed to take a ship and come to Tortall, much to the king's relief, and thus Jon had waited until the last minute to get things prepared.  
  
"You're dropping the ball, Jon," Numair commented while they sat in the war chambers one day. The rest of the palace had been cleaned and Thayet had threatened anyone with imminent death if they had caused a mess or clutter somewhere.  
  
"I wish all we were having was a ball," Jon sighed and sat in a chair next to Numair. The king, the mage, the mage's lover, the wild mage, Neal, the king's son, the prince's wife, the king's daughter, the King's Champion, the Prime Minister of Tortall, the commander of the King's Own, the commander's wife, and the queen all sat around the table in the war chamber. They were all invited to the Imperial Dinner held the next night needed a rehearsal that evening so they would know exactly where to sit and what they would serve.  
  
"But Jon, it's _Emperor Kaddar_," Thayet told him. "It isn't everyday he comes to visit. He's a nice man and we should hold a nice dinner for him. It's rude not to; it's protocol, you should know that."  
  
The stress of the last few days was apparent in Thayet's voice as well.  
  
Daine patted the woman's shoulder, offering a sympathetic smile. Buri of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak, on the queen's other side, gave her friend's a hand an encouraging squeeze. Taking a deep breath, Thayet offered Daine and Buri a smile and let her posture slip a little. "I do see the sense of Jon's suggestion, though," Buri said. "A ball would have been simpler. Just employ the pages and squires and you're off."  
  
"But we hold balls for foreign diplomats," Thayet tried to explain again.  
  
"Oh, just let the poor woman be," Alanna said across the table, sitting on the other side of her king. "She wanted a formal dinner and a contest, so we're holding a formal dinner and a contest. To hell with what the rest of you want, she's the queen."  
  
Neal gaped at his knightmaster. If this was what the inner circle of royalty was like, then he wasn't sure he had quite believed his ears. "You'll catch a lot of flies that way, Neal," Gareth the Younger told him, sitting directly across from him and hardly sparing a glance up from the stack of papers in front of him. "Jon, I need your signature on these."  
  
"Slide them down, Gary," Jonathan answered wearily.  
  
"Gary, please tell me you won't do that at the dinner tomorrow," Thayet said pleadingly.  
  
"Of course not," he told the queen innocently, placing a pen on top of the papers the needed signing and sending them down the table.  
  
Raoul laughed. "Somehow I don't trust the look on his face. Maybe it's because I've known him since I was a page?"  
  
"That would do it for you," Alanna agreed.  
  
Numair yawned. "When does this rehearsal start? I have something setting up in my chambers..."  
  
"It should start as soon as the page they send as messenger tells us to come in," Thayet offered.  
  
"Mother," Kalasin said softly.  
  
"Yes?" the queen looked at her daughter.  
  
"Didn't the cooks tell you to tell them when you were ready?" Kalasin prompted.  
  
A strange look befell Thayet's face, followed by the draining of all the color. "Yes," she groaned. "Thank you, Kally."  
  
Kalasin smiled. "Yes, Mother."  
  
Disbelievingly, Roald watched his mother leave the war chamber and began to laugh. "Oh gods, if Mother's head wasn't attached to her neck this week she would have forgotten it somewhere."  
  
"Roald," Shinkokami said beside him. "That isn't very nice to say about your mother."  
  
"It's true," Jon agreed. "It's mostly my fault too." The papers came sliding back to Gary.  
  
"Don't say that," Alanna admonished. Then she frowned. "Wait. You can say that. Feel free."  
  
"Thank you _so_ much for the support," Jon retorted dryly.  
  
A page knocked timidly on the open door. Raoul leaned back in his chair and pulled the door open further. "Something you need?"  
  
The page nodded mutely.  
  
Jon got up out of his chair. "Yes?"  
  
"Her Majesty requests your presence in the grand dining hall," the page announced clearly. His cheeks colored as his voice echoed off of the walls.  
  
"All right, you heard the boy," Jon said to the rest of the room. "Let's get going."  
  
The entire party stood up, the simultaneous scraping of chair legs on the floor making the page wince. They filed into the dining hall to find Thayet standing worriedly off to the side, glaring at the chairs seated around the tables.  
  
"Thayet?" Jon asked.  
  
"How many people are coming with Kaddar?" she countered.  
  
Helplessly, Jonathan looked to his cousin. Gary fished a piece of paper out of the stack he carried with him and scanned over it. "Including Kaddar's 'manservants,'" Gary told them, "there will be a total of sixteen people including Kaddar himself."  
  
"How many people are attending the dinner?" Thayet asked, playing with her hair impatiently.  
  
Gary took a brief count. "Thirteen of ours, Thayet. That's twenty-nine people attending the dinner."  
  
"Actually, I asked Lady Yukimi to attend as well," Shinko volunteered the information.  
  
Gary nodded. "Thirty."  
  
"How many 'manservants'?" Thayet pressed.  
  
"Not 'manservants,'" Daine muttered under her breath. "_Slaves_."  
  
Neal slipped an arm around her waist and gave her a comforting hug.  
  
"Kaddar's bringing three 'manservants' for himself, and he's bringing six noblemen with him, each bringing a 'manservant' with him," Gary sighed. "Anything else you would care to know, Your Highness?"  
  
Thayet did some quick mental calculations. "Nine 'manservants' that won't need chairs. We'll need twenty-one chairs, then." She counted the chairs and sighed. "We only set out fifteen chairs." She called out over her shoulder for one of the servants to come. "Bring me six more chairs, please?"  
  
The chairs were brought in and situated around the table.  
  
The rest of the rehearsal dinner went smoothly, without much error. Everyone was made to exit the dining hall and re-enter, finding their seats without Thayet's help. Jonathan made a small speech and filled in something of Kaddar's answer, then the dinner itself was pretended to be brought out--much to the disappointment of the majority of the male population in the room (the only one too busy to notice was Gary)--and they were released to go have their own supper.  
  
"How about we just head down to the city and get something to eat instead of ruining our appetite with the stuff from the mess?" Neal proposed to Daine.  
  
"Sounds fair appealing," Daine agreed.  
  
"Neal!" Roald called from the down the hall. "Where are you two eating? We're going down to the city!"  
  
"We are too!" Neal called back.  
  
"Care to join us?" Roald yelled.  
  
Shinko and Daine had clapped their hands over their ears while their men of choice felt the need to shout at each other across the hallway. Briefly, Neal glanced down at Daine and shrugged. "Sure!"  
  
Neal tugged his friend and temporary "lover" down the hallway to join Roald and Shinko. The princess and the mage sighed and decided to walk with each other while Neal and Roald conversed.  
  
"So when, exactly, did you and Daine start courting?" Roald asked of his long-time friend. "She's one of my oldest friends, you know. I knew her way back when. Almost killed Numair for breaking her heart like that."  
  
Neal watched Daine for a moment before sighed. "About a month ago."  
  
Letting out a low whistle, Roald shook his head. "That's not what the ladies of the court are saying. They're saying that you and Daine started courting while you were still engaged to Yuki."  
  
Neal tugged on Roald's sleeve and they slowed their pace a little, dropping out of the two women's hearing range. "We aren't truly courting," he said quietly to Roald. "It's part of a plan to get the ones we truly love back."  
  
Roald took this in, looking up at Daine and back to Neal. "Honestly?"  
  
His friend simply nodded.  
  
"...Is that why you haven't taken your eyes off of Daine the entire night, even while you're talking to me?" Roald asked.  
  
Neal froze, blinked, and looked at Roald, who simply raised his eyebrows, gave Neal a knowing look, and ran to catch up with his wife and friend. 


	5. Message to the Readers

Hello, everyone.  
  
I just wanted to drop by and tell everyone something pretty important. The end of my sophomore year of high school is fast approaching (May 22), and starting from this week (the week of the 24th) I am a very busy girl. I mostly likely won't have very much time to spend on writing (:-(), which I'm very sorry for.  
  
Here's my schedule from this week on:  
03/25/03: Field trip to Christus St. Joseph Hospital  
03/27/03: Health Occupation Students of America election day 1  
03/28/03: Health Occupation Students of America election day 2  
04/01/03: Field trip to the Fine Arts Museum  
04/05/03: Health Occupation Students of America banquet and new officer induction  
04/10/03: Trip to Dallas, Texas for Health Occupation Students of America Texas State Competition  
04/12/03: I finally return home from Dallas  
04/16/03: My sixteenth birthday  
04/22/03: Colorguard tryouts  
05/12/03: Beginning of final exam reviews  
05/19/03: Final Exam week  
05/22/03: Last day of school  
  
I may be able to squeeze out another chapter or two during the weekends, but don't expect much. (Please don't expect much of anything!!)  
  
I just thought I would warn everyone before everyone started emailing me and asking me where the rest of Love Stinks is. This same message will be posted in Free Falling, as well as One Week With Inuyasha (for those who like Inuyasha!).  
  
Love, Peace, and Inspiration,  
Arsahi  
  
P.S. Merci beaucoup to all of you that have reviewed! 


	6. Friends

_Thanks: ladyknight (x2), veralidaine (x2), Kate, Kiyleine, Stacey, Lady of the Lilacs (x2), Lady Kewlness of Queenscove, Keita (x2), Lady Sandrilene, clarylissa, kali, Karana, Dragon Princess Yuki, Cool Like Ice, Alesia, Yamani Wild Mage (x2), demented-shoelace, Peachblossom, tigeress, Lady Dragon of Spirit's Fire  
  
I forgot to say a special thanks to Kate last chapter for helping me with the idea. If she hadn't helped sow the seed, the last chapter would not exist. As well--25 reviews! Wow! Thank you all!  
  
Also, I can't remember if Corus had any docks near it but I looked at one of the maps and it looks like Corus is pretty close to two rivers and the edge of the Emerald Ocean, so there ya go._  
  


**Chapter Five: Friends**

  
  
Neal came to see Daine the morning after the rehearsal dinner to find that she had put on some of her nicer clothes. "Hello, Neal!" she greeted him, a smile on her face.  
  
"You're chipper this morning," Neal sounded surprised. "What's the occasion?"  
  
Rolling her eyes, Daine looked up at Neal. "Don't tell me you forgot already. Kaddar's coming today, remember? It's fair reason for me to get a little dressed up, don't you think?"  
  
Neal nodded. "Of course. I wasn't begrudging you the chance to dress up. I just thought...well...you know, you never get dressed up for anything." It was a struggle to keep the frown off of his face.  
  
For a moment, Daine studied his face. Then laughter bubbled up from her throat and spilled out over her lips. "I believe you're jealous, dear Neal!" the smile grew bigger. "There's nothing for you to be jealous of, honest. Kaddar and I never had anything going on when I visited Carthak when I was younger and there certainly isn't anything going on now." She hugged Neal. "Anyway, you and I are only pretend."  
  
"Right," Neal agreed quickly, hugging her back. _I can't help thinking about Roald said last night, though. Is he right? Am I really falling for Daine again? Well, she does look rather nice today. Perhaps I should stick close, just in case._ "Will you go down to the docks and wait for him like the king and queen?"  
  
Daine nodded enthusiastically. "I can't wait to see him. I haven't seen Kaddar for a long time, and it'll be nice to see a friendly face again. Though I don't agree with his...practices...I still like him."  
  
"I can imagine." Though he really couldn't.  
  
A thought occured to Daine. "Do you want to come down to the docks with us to welcome Kaddar?"  
  
"If you want me to," Neal answered nonchallantly while his brain screamed, _YES!_  
  
"Sounds good," she agreed. She looked at Neal critically and unconciously a blush creeped up onto his cheeks. "You'll need to wear something a little more suited to be a welcoming party for the emperor of Carthak."  
  
Neal tugged at his tunic and frowned. "This is fine."  
  
Daine sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Come with me. We'll go find Roald and he'll show you what you should wear." She took his hand, pulled him out into the hallway, and dashed off with the knight from Queenscove without locking her door. It only took them a few moments to find the prince they sought, quickly cornering him. "Sorry to bother you, Roald, but Neal's in a fair odd position. He needs to know what to wear to the greeting."  
  
Yawning, Roald ran a hand through his hair. He hadn't waken but an hour ago and although he was used to keeping odd hours, he was still tired. The night before had been taxing. "All right. Come on, Neal."  
  
Daine waited outside while Roald dressed Neal appropriately. She had imagined he would look good when he came out, but nothing prepared her for what she saw when Neal strutted out of the prince's quarters. What she _did_ see took her breath away rather abruptly. "Wow," she murmured.  
  
He wore deep emerald green pants made of light material with a white shirt embroidered in the same emerald green around the collar and sleeves. His tunic was made of a golden material with the Tortall coat-of-arms embroidered over his heart. "You like?" Neal asked softly.  
  
"I like," nodded Daine, staring at him. She had never seen him look so good!  
  
He smiled.  
  
She had never noticed the way his eyes lit up when he smiled.  
  
"A_hem_," Roald coughed. "If you two are quite through, I think we should go join my father and the delegation outside?"  
  
"Right," Neal nodded quickly and offered his arm to Daine, who accepted gracefully. _What was that I saw just now? I could've sworn I saw something in her eyes when she looked at me..._  
  
They hurried out to the gate, the sun climbing higher in the sky. Most of the delegation meeting Kaddar at the water had gathered there, milling aimlessly about while Gary checked off on an attendance sheet. "I heard Raoul say that not even Stormwings could drag him out of bed today last night, so I assume Buri's with him. Other than that, we're all here, Jon."  
  
Jonathan nodded. "Good. Everyone, mount up and move out."  
  
Not in too much of a hurry, everybody obeyed the king's orders. Jon and Roald rode out in the front of the procession with Numair and Gary behind the prince's father and Neal and Daine behind Roald. Alanna rode in the gap between Numair and Neal, having the desire to do something more than ride. They traveled in a companionable silence for the most part with an unspoken truce between Numair and Daine.  
  
They arrived at the docks and each dismounted, taking their places on the designated mooring place for the Carthaki ship. "Well, here we are," Roald said finally.  
  
Alanna sank down on a post sticking up from the planks of wood that formed the dock. "This is boring."  
  
Neal joined her, sitting on the edge of the dock with his feet dangling over the edge. A moment later, Daine sat next to him. "I'll have to agree, Alanna," Daine told her. "I wish we knew exactly when they were coming in. It would have made things fair easier."  
  
"No kidding," Neal sighed. Numair sat on the opposite side of Alanna on one of the posts as Jon and Roald sat in chairs set up further down the dock. The sun beat down on them mercilessly like a smothering fog, humidity clinging to their clothes and making them wish they had worn shorter sleeves.  
  
"At least the Carthakis will feel at home in this ungodly heat," Numair announced.  
  
That elicited a few snickers from the delegation.  
  
The hours passed by with the slow lapping of the sea against the dock and by the time the Carthaki delegation appeared on the horizon, most of the Tortallan delegation had rolled up their pant legs, removed their tunics, and rolled up their sleeves. As well, those with long hair had found something to tie it back with.  
  
"There it is!" Daine cried. She had removed her tunic, rolled up her pants and sleeves, and had tied back her hair with one of Neal's hair ties. Groaning, the rest of them plucked at their sweat-soaked clothes and tried in vain to make their matted hair look more like hair and less like something died on their heads.  
  
It took another forty-five minutes for the ship to anchor at the Tortallan dock, and instead of being greeted by happy Tortallan faces, they were greeted by several put-out expressions and slumped bodies.  
  
Daine pushed her way to the front of the delegation and waited in almost breathless anticipation for the Carthaki emperor to step off of his vessel. Kaddar's slaves and nobility filed down the gangplank first and stood abreast along the edge of the dock, waiting for their leader to show himself. Almost painstakingly slow, Kaddar appeared in the door and trotted down the gangplank.  
  
"Kaddar!" Daine cried, grinning.  
  
"Daine!" Kaddar's face lit up as he smiled back. Quickly, he gathered the wild mage in his arms and squeezed--a friendly affection which she returned heartily. "I was hoping you'd be here!"  
  
"Of course," Daine scoffed. "Why wouldn't I be?"  
  
Kaddar laughed and gave her another hug. He gazed around the congregation and greeted Jonathan and Roald formally, followed by Gary, Numair, and Alanna. Finally, Kaddar's gaze landed on Neal. "Who's this?" he asked of Daine.  
  
"Oh! This is Neal," she said. Grinning again, she took Neal's hand. "Emperor Kaddar, allow me to present Sir Nealan of Queenscove."  
  
Neal bowed as learned during his page years and told Kaddar, "It's a pleasure to meet you, my lord."  
  
"Pleasure is all mine, Sir Nealan." Nodding, Kaddar turned to Jon, who had brought along some horses for the entire Carthaki party. The lords, however, requested that their slaves not ride horses.  
  
The ride back to the palace was made in relative quiet, with close to the same formation as before. This time, however, Jon and Kaddar rode at the front with Roald and one of Kaddar's higher noblemen just behind, Neal and Daine paired, Numair and a nobleman, Gary and a nobleman, and Alanna and one of the noblemen. Those who didn't talk to one of the delegation talked amongst themselves while the rest of the Tortallans struggled to ignore the slaves on all sides of them.  
  
The palace thrummed with anticipation when Kaddar and Jon first breached the gates. Fortunately, a mob hadn't formed at the gates thanks to Raoul's squads and Thayet's Riders, and the entire group stabled their horses in peace. The foreign diplomats were shown to their rooms by the servants of the palace and Jonathan and Roald led the emperor to his quarters.  
  
"And them?" Kaddar questioned, waving a hand in the general vicinity of the well-dressed slaves that had followed them, carrying their owner's things.  
  
"I'll take care of them," Roald assured the emperor.  
  
Kaddar accepted that, thanked Jon and Roald for Tortall's hospitality, and went into his quarters.  
  


*******

  
  
"Jon."  
  
Thayet caught Jonathan as he separated from their son. Startled, Jon looked up at his black-haired queen. "Yes?"  
  
"Did you have tournament registration yet?" Thayet demanded.  
  
The color draining from Jon's face was answer enough for her.  
  
"Jon!" she sounded exasperated. Cringing, the king looked sheepishly at his wife. "Jon..."  
  
"I know," he said tiredly. "I'll send the invitations to the knights right now. I'll get Kally and have her talk with the Carthakis about who wants to participate."  
  
Thayet sighed, her shoulders sagging just a little. She knew these past couple of weeks had been taxing on everyone, especially the royal couple. Gently, she took her husband in her arms and rested her head on his shoulder. Jon returned the embrace, dropping a kiss on her forehead then her lips as she looked up at him expectantly. "I love you, you know," she whispered.  
  
Jon smiled. "I love you too."  
  
When Jon released her, Thayet walked the same direction she had come from to go attend to some other business, and Jon went to see about the invitations.  
  


*******

  
  
A sudden, sharp rapping at her door drew Kel's attention away from a letter she had just begun to address to her mother and father back in Mindelan. Puzzled, the lady knight rose from her seat and opened the door. "Yes?" she asked of the messenger who stood in front of her.  
  
"M'lady." The messenger bowed. "A message from His Majesty, King Jonathan of Conte." A stiff envelope passed hands.  
  
"Thank you," Kel replied. She turned and almost shut the door before she realized the messenger still stood at the edge of her quarters. "Oh...does he want an immediate reply?"  
  
Nodding, the messenger straightened his posture. "Yes, m'lady."  
  
Quickly, Kel opened the opened the envelope:  
  
_Lady Keladry of Mindelan:  
  
You are cordially invited to participate in a tournament of skills with your peers and the Carthaki delegates. Your involvement would be much appreciated so please do not dismiss this invitation hastily. If you should decide to participate, and your decision is required by the end of the day, please check which event you would like to compete in. The tournament will take place in three days. Keep in mind that space is limited and therefore each contestant may only choose one event.  
  
King Jonathan and Queen Thayet of Conte_  
  
Just as Numair had told her, Kel found that tilting, sword fighting, archery, and an event for the Gifted were listed below the royal seal. Kel quickly marked the space indicated next to tilting, placed the invitation back in the envelope, and handed it back to the messenger. "Thank you again!" she called after the messenger.  
  


*******

  
  
When the invitation arrived for Neal, he opened the envelope, read "you are cordially invited to participate in a tournament of skills", folded the invitation back up, stuffed it back in the envelope, looked at the messenger, and said, "Are you kidding me? I'll be on healing duty."  
  


*******

  
  
When Daine received her invitation, it read slightly different than the others addressed to the knights.  
  
_Wild Mage Veralidaine Sarrasri:  
  
Although somewhat unorthodox, Thayet and I have decided to invite you to compete in the tournament arranged for the knights of the realm and the Carthaki delegates. You are quite known around the palace for your skill with the bow, so please indicate below whether or not you shall participate. Keep in mind that space is limited, so your reply is required within the hour. I look forward to seeing you at the tournament three days from now.  
  
Jon_  
  
Daine smiled, checked the box that said "yes," and handed the invitation back the messenger.  
  


*******

  
  
The formal dinner that night started according to plan but the order of the dinner practiced the night before seemed to fail in the face of the adversary it stood against. Kaddar, rather than sit with Jon and Thayet at the head of the table, decided he would rather sit with Daine, explaining that he had much to tell her and much to hear. Thayet's plan began to crumble there and gradually got worse as the night wore on.  
  
For example, once Kaddar moved down the table to sit across from the abnormally animated Daine, the emperor invited Numair and Keita down as well. Numair wound up next to Daine, causing more tension at the already stressful table. Every time Daine would allow her hand to rest on her leg or on the arm of her chair, Neal would try to hold it to keep up appearances, but every time he thought to take her hand she would be moving it around again as she explained something from the Scanran War or something after the immortals and Carthaki's known dealing with it. Accidentally, Daine had even knocked over a chalice of wine.  
  
Kaddar had _laughed_.  
  
Something about this Emperor Kaddar struck Neal the wrong way, which didn't happen very often. Generally, he thought of himself as an easy-going kind of guy unless his sense of justice was threatened. But something about this Kaddar man made him cringe inwardly.  
  
The servants that brought in the food almost tripped over one another as they did in an attempt to look professional in the eyes of a powerful nation that, if Kaddar ever found himself overthrown, would most likely try to invade Tortall. Thayet also found that if she ever had her legs paralyzed from the thigh down she could most likely walk with her buttocks.  
  
"...So I said, 'What are you _talking_ about, a bird? That was _clearly_ a dragon!'" Kaddar laughed, delivering the punchline of a half-heard joke.  
  
Neal rolled his eyes and went over any and all torture methods he knew of. _Who does this man think he is, Daine's husband? Why does he keep looking at her like that? Hello, did you_ not _hear Daine when she told you that she and I were courting?_  
  
"Neal?" Daine asked quietly, touching his hand.  
  
Her touch brought him out of his brooding thoughts. "Yes?"  
  
"You're gripping that napkin fair tightly. Are you okay?" she asked, concerned.  
  
Neal looked at his opposite hand, which had gripped the linen so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. Sheepishly, the healer released it and instead took Daine's hand, which had remained near his for more than three seconds. Daine gave him a smile and turned back to Kaddar, once more talking animatedly but hampered with one arm pinioned.  
  
The dinner trailed on, Numair trying to break into the conversation every now and then but Daine and Kaddar occupying most of it. Jon tried once to gather everyone's attention but that had been when Daine had knocked over her glass and from there he figured it best to just let everything go. Typically Kaddar wouldn't be offended if Jon didn't make a speech honoring him for the long trip made from Carthak and the emperor seemed to be enjoying himself just talking to his old friend.  
  
"It's a disaster," Thayet muttered in her husband's ear.  
  
"Not really," he replied, squeezing her knee. "Kaddar's having a good time and so is everyone else. Except maybe Neal and Keita since they have to listen Daine and Kaddar."  
  
Thayet mustered something of a chuckle and picked at her food. The dinner reached dessert and everyone began to settle down, stopping conversations because of the length of the meal. Kaddar and Daine still went at it though, and everyone could hear their conversation.  
  
Finally, Neal got tired of being ignored and shoved back from the table, his chair legs scraping on the floor. He flushed, excused himself, and walked off, all eyes on him.  
  


*******

  
  
Daine hurried after Neal and found him in the infirmary. He was sitting on a chair, balancing his chin on arms that rested along the back of said chair. He looked as if he had fallen asleep.  
  
"Neal?" she asked quietly, touching his shoulder.  
  
Lazily, he opened one eye and looked at her. "Oh. It's you."  
  
Taken aback, Daine jerked back like he had slapped her. "Yeah...it's me."  
  
"Forgive this lowly servant for tearing you away from your ever-so-important conversation with the Emperor," he answered bitterly.  
  
Daine frowned. "You're acting fair stupid. What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Go back to the dinner. Leave me to wallow," he told her as he attempted to wave her off.  
  
"Neal..."  
  
"No. Go, Daine. We're friends, remember? This was all just to make Yuki and Numair notice us again." _If that's true, why didn't I notice Yuki the entire time?_  
  
Daine placed her fingers under his chin and lifted it so he met her eyes. She seemed to look for something in the depths of his emerald green orbs and apparently found it because she nodded. Carefully, she dropped a kiss on his lips. "Friends," she whispered, and left.  
  
"Friends..." Neal echoed.   
*************************************************  
  
Okay. Now that chapter five is over with, I wanted to bring something up. Instead of deciding on a definite pairing, I'm going to take a survey, and fan response will decide the pairing. Please vote, because your pairing just might win!  
  
**Neal/...**  
  
- Daine  
  
- Yuki  
  
- other (specify)  
  
********  
  
**Daine/...**  
  
- Neal  
  
- Numair  
  
- other (specify)  
  
Remember to say which character you want Neal to fall in love with and what character you want Daine to fall in love with if you choose "other." Happy voting! 


End file.
